Demographics of Iran

According to the demographics of Iran, the total population of the country has been estimated to be 65,397,521 in the 2008 census. Iran is a country of ethic and linguistic diversities. There are various ethnic groups in certain cities of Iran. The five cities in the country which are most populated are Tehran, Mashad, Isfahan, Tabriz and Shiraz. A notable feature of the demographics of Iran is the high literacy rate which is over 80%.

Roughly 70% of the people of Iran speak Iranian languages with major groups including Persians, Kurds, Gilakis, Mazandaranis, Lurs, and Baluchis. The rest are mainly Turkic, like the Turkmen, Azeri, the Qashqai, Arabs, Armenians and Assyrians.

In terms of religious affiliations, the majority of the Iranians are Muslims; of which 90% belong to the Shia branch of Islam, the official state religion and 9% belong to the Sunni branch. The non-Muslim minorities in Iran comprise of the Zoroastrians, Jews, Baha'is, Mandeans and Christians.